June 2008

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Interesting that I had to learn about this emerging issue from a British newspaper. This story focuses on S. California.. but I'm particularly concerned about folks living in less temperate climates. This is shaping up to be a very tough winter for untold thousands of Americans. I am deply saddened that it has come to this. It was all avoidable... The culprits, lest we forget, are the Fed (going all the way back to their creation), Presidents Roosevelt, Nixon, and Bush... (with contributions from every one between them)... greedy bankers... etc. [more]

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Please have a look at my last article. I strongly believe we are in the early stages of a bull market in Aluminum. The article I think lays a pretty solid foundation for why I believe so. I'd love to know what you think. As always, opposing views are also most welcome. Let's talk about it... come to our own conclusions... that's what makes CAPS so great! :) [more]

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More and more signs of acceptance among the world's major institutions of the inevitability of stagflation. The willingness to go public with such warnings is a second step in my opinion... they've seen this all coming for some time... if it was clear to me and other independent-minded Fools, I know it can't be grabbing all these experts by surprise all of a sudden. There's simply an acceptance that it is now truly unavoidable and imminent... so they have nothing to lose by warning their clients. [more]

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I don't know which is more alarming... the fact that the ratings have been withdrawn, depriving investors of their right to know something about the financial state of two companies that are cricual to the health of so many other kinds of investment vehicles... or whether the rating was pulled at the request of the companies in question. The latter leaves me with a very uneasy feeling. [more]

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Don't be duped by the spin machine, Fools. Interventions by governments into free markets always fail, and with consequences that are crippling to markets. These statements from the LME make U.S. politicians like Lieberman look like idiots, though they do a pretty good job of that themselves, IMO. And George Soros... the once-revered commodity trader... I have no idea where his allegiance lies now. He's either just wrong, or he's agreed to be a messenger for the intervention camp. [more]

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Well... this has to be rather embarrassing for Paulson and Bernanke... The BIS is the central bank to the central banks, and this is a straight-up slap in the face to Bernanke for his 'loose monetary policy'. You reap what you sow, Ben! While I do admit to taking pleasure in imagining Ben squirming as reality bursts the balloons of his pro-dollar hocus-pocus verbiage, I am always careful to state clearly that I am deeply disturbed by the underlying reality that Americans are facing. This begins as a financial meltdown, but could well become a humanitarian nightmare. [more]

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The following article by Ted Butler is right on the money. I have been following the short activity on gold and silver on a regular basis for several years now. The price manipulation by the largest shorts is clear as day when you track the COT and then compare it to what follows with prices. [more]

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A few months ago, I spent many hours collecting the data necessary to tally the $200 billion figure which appeared in my February article about the mortgage crisis. I am relieved to see that someone is tracking and compiling this data now, as it is a crucial ingredient to understanding the scope of the overall credit crisis. However, keep in mind that this list does not tell the whole story. Many creative accounting processes, many of which have no basis in rationality, are being used to prevent these write-downs from reaching much higher levels. Any such understatements of losses, though, will be only temporary smoke screens. [more]

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As long as I'm posting images that speak volumes, how about this steel price chart! I have delved deep into the coal and iron ore industries, and I can unequivocally state that there is no relief in sight from rising input costs for the steel industry. The price of steel, therefore, is just getting warmed up.